A CONWY father, whose son suffers from an inoperable brain tumour, was among patients and relatives at Westminster to hear of the progress being made to help find a cure for the disease.

Richard Crowther’s son Gruff was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2014 after minor but repeated difficulties with his eyesight. He endured chemotherapy and now, aged 10, lives with a severe sight impairment. Richard has been a staunch campaigner to help improve treatment options for patients.

Richard was attending the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours which was established by Brain Tumour Research and its member charities to champion the cause. Other families, patients, charity campaigners, scientists and politicians who heard an update from Nicky Huskens, director of Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission.

The Crowther family has worked with the Brain Tumour Research charity to help raise awareness of brain tumours. The charity funds a network of centres of excellence where scientists are focused on improving treatment options for brain tumour patients and, ultimately, finding a cure.

Richard added: “Gruff is doing really well but his tumour, an optic pathway glioma, is inoperable because of its location, so we're always aware that it's still there. Despite the fact he is severely visually impaired, he doesn't let this disability define him and he constantly amazes me with what he can achieve.

“At the age of seven, he was the youngest patient to attend a reception at Speaker’s House, Westminster, in March 2016, when he joined Brain Tumour Research in calling for more funding for the devastating disease.”

He added: “For Gruff, and all other patients and their families, we're determined to keep doing what we can in order to press for change. I was shocked to learn that brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

“I find it incredible that, historically, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours, relatively little compared to cancers such as breast and leukaemia, which have both seen huge improvements in survival rates and outcomes.”